Limerick, Ireland – August 2008
Day 5 – just chilling out
Thursday 7th August
This morning’s routine was much as it was yesterday. I say this with some inability to determine if that’s a bad thing or a good thing. Usually, when on holiday, we like to keep a full schedule of activities with lots of exploration about the place but this time we’re somewhat stifled for things to do and places to go. On the other hand, we’ve had a busy past few weeks/months and a rest is actually what a holiday is all about so I find it difficult to complain about the lack of things to do. We basically went nowhere all morning and didn’t manage to get out of the house until after the kids had taken their naps. It’s good to get a bit of sleep from time to time I suppose. Had we wanted to go anywhere in particular, the constant drizzling rain would have prevented it anyway so we made the most of interacting with the kids instead.
We had arranged to meet with Ree-Ree & Shalina this afternoon but despite our best efforts, we could not reach either of them on the phone. One explanation was that the phone credit was exhausted and they couldn’t call back or send a text so we decided to chance our luck and head on over to the university in Limerick to see if we could find them either at their accommodation block or at the main sports arena.
It was around two in the afternoon by the time we got there and the sun was now out and in full force too. Although it’s now forecast to be rainy for the remainder of the trip, it was now starting to look like quite a nice day. Alas, we couldn’t locate anyone at the accommodation buildings so Sandy chanced her arm at trying to get into the main sports arena (which would ordinarily require purchasing a ticket since the competition has now started) under the guise of trying to track down one of the volunteer helpers – which actually worked. Shalina was still otherwise occupied but we met up with Ree-Ree and spent an hour with her at a nearby shopping centre for lunch and some supermarket shopping.
By the time we dropped Ree-Ree back at the man sports arena (with her hands full of shopping bags), it was too late to actually go anywhere, even despite the good weather, so we decided to treat the kids to an hour at a children’s indoor play centre that we passed on the way over. It was due to shut after just thirty minutes but it was well over an hour of fun and frivolity on the part of all before we were turfed out.
Back at the house, the evening routine was by now in full autopilot mode and with the kids fed, changed and off to bed with a story, we wound down for the night. I spent an hour or so at the hotel bar with the laptop chatting to family. My ACS RPL result letter has apparently arrived and Darren read the important bits to me over Face Book. Looks like I got the results I was looking for, albeit that there were some surprises that I’ll need to look a bit closer at when I see the letter for myself. This is the most significant hurdle I’ve been waiting for that will now signify the green light for my actual Australian permanent residence visa application to be submitted. It’s a load off my shoulders that is more than welcome.